


Can you hear me now?

by WickedHeadache



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canon Related, Caretaking, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Mutual Pining, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 11:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19084372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedHeadache/pseuds/WickedHeadache
Summary: Jonah has been defeated. The only problem is that Tina was accidentally hurt during her time as an alien...by none other than Leslie. Now Leslie is determined to take care of her until she's healed and ready to go back home.Or -- the one where Tina is hiding with the runaways and constantly in fear of being killed in her sleep by a bunch of teens.





	Can you hear me now?

**Author's Note:**

> I know it sounds kinda cheesy, but I PROMISE is sadder than it seems..... Sort of.
> 
> Okay, maybe not. But I hope you enjoy some reluctant allies to friends to lovers, with mother-daughter drama in the background.
> 
> Pretty please leave kudos and let me know what you think <3

Tina hissed, looking away from her injury and up to Leslie. She was deeply focused on rubbing that painful thing (alcohol, maybe) around in her bloody skin with a cloth.

 

“Why are you helping me?” She asked. “I tried to kill you.”

 

“An alien tried to kill me,” Leslie corrected her. “Besides, I can't let my daughter's mother in-law die, can I?”

 

“Mother in-law?”

 

“Right, you don't know,” she muttered, mostly to herself. She bit her lip as she eyed carefully the injury on Tina's stomach. “I don't think you'll need stitches, but I'm not a doctor, so…” she trailed off, “you will have to manage with a bandage.”

 

She took gauze and started bandaging her cut up. Tina inhaled sharply, and couldn't help but chuckle at herself. Her life was in the hands of Leslie Dean, the less trustworthy person Tina had ever known, besides herself. Yet, here she was, willing to trust Leslie wouldn’t make her wound deeper and kill her faster in a sense of vengeance after she tried to end her — the alien, but still.

 

“You did quite the number on me,” she commented.

 

“Well, you were trying to knock me down and kidnap me, I had to defend myself in some way,” Leslie retorted, as she started to stand up.

 

“The alien,” she corrected her, just a bit cheekily. “Why would they want to-?”

 

Tina shut herself up, her mouth hanging open as she lied eyes on the answer. Leslie was heavily pregnant; she had to support herself to stand up and she almost lost her balance while doing so. She stretched her back and sat down in a chair in front of Tina, lifting her legs and resting them on another one.

 

“You're…”

 

“Yes,” Leslie said. “It's Jonah's,” she added, as if she could read Tina's mind. “That's why they wanted to take me with them. To steal my child from me when it's out of... _here_.”

 

Her hands landed protectively over her baby bump, and Tina found herself somehow smitten with this version of Leslie. But she could also see the fear hiding behind her eyes, the distrust every time she looked at Tina, like in any moment the alien would be back to try and take her baby away from her.

 

Which was nonsensical. They had killed them all and returned the bodies that rightfully belonged to the humans, meaning Tina, Stacey and Victor.

 

“I'm not _her,_ you know? I wouldn't do that,” she reminded her.

 

“I know,” Leslie smiled tightly. “Can you stand?”

 

Tina was thrown off guard with that, but recovered quickly and tried to get up. It hurt just a little, but she succeeded.

 

“In fact, I do,” she bragged.

 

Leslie raised an eyebrow, tilting her head skeptically. “Did it hurt?”

 

Tina looked away. “Maybe.”

 

But she only chuckled and stood up, walking towards the purse. Seconds later, she came back, gesturing for Tina lay her hand open, and she popped two pills in it. Tina eyed them suspiciously.

 

“You can stop worrying, it's not poison,” Leslie rolled her eyes. “It is, my dear earthling, this land's version of magic. It's Aspirin.”

 

Tina scoffed at the joke, but swallowed the pills dry. “I know what Aspirin is.”

 

Leslie just smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Better?”

 

“Just wait until they kick in. I expect to feel in paradise.”

 

“Do Aspirin have a different effect on you or…?”

 

Tina ignored the sardonic tone, closed her eyes and said, “Anything is better than my current state, that's for sure.”

 

“That bad?”

 

Leslie's eyes flicked with worry through her wound, and Tina narrowed her eyes at her. Seeing her reaction, her instinct was calming her down. It's not like she was dying.

 

“I was just being dramatic, don't mind me.”

 

“Alright,” she said, but looked doubtful. “Tell me if it gets worst.”

 

She nodded, knowing she wouldn't. “Where are the kids?”

 

“Probably on their way back from saving Karolina,” she said, then huffed. “They'll be thrilled to see you here.”

 

“Is Nico okay?”

 

“She is,” Leslie reassured her. “She knows how to take care of herself.”

 

Tina let out a short laugh, drifting her gaze towards the bruises on her legs and arms, a flash of memory appearing in her mind. “Don't I know,” she said dryly.

 

“That was Nico?”

 

“She was fighting against me and Robert,” she told her, absently. “We were about to win when she got more powerful, and the Staff of One took over her.”

 

“ _Took over_ her?” Her eyes bulged. “Is that supposed to happen?”

 

“There are… secondary effects for the Staff,” she licked her lips nervously. “It has a darkness that connects with our blood and becomes a part of us, takes our nastier emotions, mostly anger, and its power grows.”

 

“You never told me.”

 

“What did you want me to tell?” She snapped. “That I gave my daughter a dark stick that'll bring out the worst in her?”

 

“I gave mine a psychopath by biological father and an asshole of adoptive father, if that helps,” Leslie shrugged, smiling sympathetically.

 

“It would, if you had red somewhere here.”

 

“At the kids’ place?” She said with a disbelieving look, then she smirks. “Probably. But you shouldn't get drunk now, you have to rest.”

 

“Don't you have any stronger meds? Aspirin isn't helping much,” Tina all but whined.

 

Leslie would be more amused by that out of character attitude if it weren't for her concern. She searched inside her purse and shook her head with a frown.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Alright,” Tina sighed, a slight petulant tone in her voice. “I guess I'll just have to sit until I bleed to unconsciousness, or whatever.”

 

Leslie rolled her eyes. “You're kidding with me.”

 

“A bit,” she admitted.

 

She exhaled with a soft smile, tucking a dark lock behind Tina's ear, fingers accidentally brushing against her cheekbones. Tina's breath caught on her throat.

 

“Get better, okay?” Leslie said before standing up and walking away.

 

“How far are you?” Tina asked, making her stop on her tracks.

 

She turned around, looking down at her baby bump before sitting again. She could notice Tina didn't want to be alone, she wanted to keep talking with her for some unexplainable reason. Last time she saw her, Tina hated her for keeping the truth about Amy's death a secret and would barely talk to her unless it was about planning Jonah's demise.

 

“Five months.”

 

“You don't know how many weeks?”

 

“Haven't exactly had the time to make a doctor's appointment.”

 

“Right. Has it started kicking?”

 

“Not yet.”

 

Tina took on the blonde's stoic expression, and frowned. She clearly wasn't very excited about it or she was making a good job hiding her feelings, something Tina could relate to. Because, to her dismay, they were much alike, yet she couldn’t figure out what was going on inside Leslie’s head.

 

Somehow, Tina didn't like that at all. She wanted to know what was wrong, what could she do to help her. She shouldn't care for Leslie, not after the pain she had caused toward her family — yet the most sentimental, irrational part of her, her most primitive instincts, continued to push her into Leslie's life. She was kind of lucky of getting possessed by an alien in that prospect; the alien didn't care about Leslie, the alien kept her away from Leslie. The alien hadn't yearned for Leslie since their first Pride meeting. The alien was a fortunate bastard.

 

Tina sucked on breath and plastered a smile on her face. “The kids must be arriving soon.”

 

Unexpectedly, Leslie didn't smile and nod, or offered her a cup of tea or did some sort of polite gesture while they waited for them. No, instead she let out a breathy groan, rolling her eyes.

 

“Oh, don't do that,” Leslie complained.

 

“Do what?” Tina said innocently.

 

“ _That_ ,” Leslie waved at her face exasperated. “Put on a mask, hide your emotions. I'm so sick of it, Tina.”

 

“A bit hypocritical of you, don't you think?” She remarked.

 

“We are not so different, did you know?” the blonde said. “I understand perfectly what's like to force yourself to be something because it was expected of you, to smile when all you want is to shoot your brains out.” Tina's eyebrows flew up to her hairline. “But, to be honest, I just don't give a damn anymore.”

 

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes, just as the kids bursted into the hostel.

 

There was yelling, an angry Nico and an unconscious Karolina. Tina couldn't help but stare at the scene: at her daughter, at Leslie taking care of Karolina, at Nico treating Leslie like she was good — and she couldn't help but wonder.

 

It was better than to focus on the teens discussing what to do with her as if Tina was a lost puppy they weren't sure they wanted to keep more than a grown woman wanting to reunite with her child.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

A knock was heard, and Tina sighed, hoping it wasn't one of the kids trying to give her a piece of their minds. They made pretty clear how they felt about her just a few minutes ago; she didn't feel like getting a repeat. They hated her, big deal. All she cared about at the time was regaining Nico's trust and if to do that she had to take the risk of waking up one night with hands wrapped around her neck, so be it.

 

Thus Tina swallowed her uneasiness and cleared her throat, not wanting her voice to come out hoarse like she fell it would. “Come in.”

 

To her surprise, the door creaked as it showed Leslie standing on the other side, a kind smile plastered on her face. Tina raised her eyebrows and observed the woman rubbing her hands together as she hesitated to enter the room.

 

“Hi,” she said, stepping in. “I wanted to check on you.”

 

“Well, here I am,” Tina said as she let herself fall on the bed.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

“Peachy. My daughter almost blasted my ass with the Staff. If it weren't for Karolina, I would be on my my way back home,” she explained, then sighed and turned around to see Leslie. “Why do you even care?”

 

“Just trying to be nice,” Leslie shrugged. “I’m sure you're in pain again? Let me give you more Aspirin.”

 

“Why?” Tina insisted. “You don't have to do anything for me, I don't want your niceness.”

 

“Could you shut up and just let me give you some painkillers?”

 

“You don't want fake smiles, don't you? I don't want undeserving kindness. So save it.”

 

“Fine,” Leslie snapped. “You don't want me to be nice? Then suck it up. Stop sulking, and just accept the damned pills. Being in pain won't do you no good.”

 

Tina rolled her eyes, yet she extended her hand and let Leslie pop two pills on it.

 

“There,” Leslie said. “Want some water with those?”

 

“No.”

 

“I heard the kids arguing downstairs. I take it you passed the trial?”

 

“I guess I did.”

 

The blonde smiled and sat down at her feet on the bed, a hand falling naturally on Tina's knee. Tina was painfully aware of it.

 

“So you are staying.”

 

“Yes. Unless it's all an elaborate plan to kill me in my sleep.”

 

Leslie chuckled and, unexpectedly, pushed herself down the bed at Tina's side with a groan as her back stretched, resting her hands over her baby bump. Tina stared at her as if she had gone mad. Leslie stared back.

 

“What?”

 

“You're in my bed.”

 

She scoffed. “Believe me, if I were coming on you, you'd notice.”

 

“Don't be ridiculous,” Tina shook her head.

 

Leslie laughed. “We are quite the pair, you and I, don't you think?”

 

“Indeed,” she chuckled dryly. “You are the only person who understands me here, _and_ you hate me.”

 

“I don't hate you,” she frowned, and twisted her neck to look at Tina, whose humorless smile had freezed. The stunned look on her face took Leslie's breath away. “I _don't_ ,” she reassured her.

 

“You have one weird mind, Leslie Dean,” Tina sighed and turned her back on her. “Close the door on your way out.”

 

“Alright, then. If you need me, my room is right next to yours,” Leslie added and waited for a response.

 

A response she never got. Tina didn't hear another word from her, just the sound of the door being shut and of her heart thumping against her chest at the warm the blonde left on the sheets. She wondered why that provoked such reaction. She thought about Leslie laying down next to her, smiling to her like old friends do as she told her she didn't hate her. Suddenly, Tina didn't want to know.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“I don't even know why you're still here!” The girl shouted to her mother.

 

“I- I want to bring you back home, Nico,” the woman said, begging eyes glimmering.

 

“I am home! Why can't you get that I don't want to be around you anymore?” Nico raised her voice even more. “They may have let you stay, but you and I are through.”

 

There were the words Tina had known were true for a long time, but that still held the weight to kill her as they came out of her daughter's mouth. It was her fault, Tina was aware of that, she had turned her own daughter against her. She had thought it was because Nico was too young to understand what was at stake, to see beyond the layers of a black and white world. She had been wrong.

 

Nevertheless, one couldn't change the past, take a different path of the one that had been taken, no matter how hard Tina desired it. All she had left to look for was the future, a future that she hoped she would live with Nico in it. She wasn't exactly hoping for forgiveness, and less for absolution; no, what she wanted was a second chance to make things right.

 

“So you can go back home and leave me alone,” Nico sentenced and gave her back to the woman, locking herself in her and Karolina's room.

 

A single tear fell down Tina's cheek that she washed away with her hand, but beyond that there was no sign of how hard that fight had hit her.

 

“She'll come around,” she heard Leslie said behind her, leaning on the doorway of her bedroom.

 

Tina snapped up at her, a thousand questions going through her mind. “How did you do it?” She decided to go with.

 

“Do what?”

 

“How did you get Karolina to forgive you?”

 

“She didn't,” she honestly answered. “But she's trying. I recognized my wrongdoings and expressed my wishes to make amends, and Karolina is…” Leslie shook her head with a proud smile on her face, “I don't know how she grew up to be so good. Sometimes I look her and can't see myself in her. And I'm not talking about looks, of course. Still, she didn't forgive me. She… tolerates me.”

 

The brunette nodded absently and walked away from the hallway and from Leslie, whose talk didn't help at all, but also it almost made her want to cry. Their situations were supposed to be so similar, yet they were so different it seemed impossible she and Leslie had been through the same problems with their daughters.

 

Tina was smarter than to waste time wallowing and begging, and pounding on her daughter's door until she decided to forgive her. First off, Nico was too stubborn to be moved by that, and secondly, crying was — as we have established before — a waste of time. Tina wouldn't allow herself that, not unless she was under extreme circumstances that called for extreme measures.

 

Instead, she grabbed a mop and a bucket of water, and installed herself in the kitchen. Some time ago, when cleaning was a necessity done by herself instead of the lady she paid for it, Tina had discovered it was therapeutic somehow. She locked her emotions deep inside of her in teeny tiny boxes on her mind and then, when she had time and was alone, she released the emotion by cleaning. At one point, when she had become wealthy, she exchanged that activity by work, which was way more productive.

 

“I didn't know you cleaned.”

 

Leslie's voice startled her, and she glowered at her for it before shaking her head, going back to her cleaning. “I had a life before becoming rich, or did you think I was born wealthy and successful, and able to afford cleaning service?”

 

Leslie stayed silent for a moment, seemingly deep in her thoughts or too concerned on the worry lines printed on Tina's face, then she inhaled and said, “Does your wound still hurt?”

 

Tina almost slumped down in relief when she realized her fight with Nico was not to be argued. The blonde seemed to understand what was inside her head, and while at another occasion that would've probably creeped Tina out, at the time she was, most of all, relieved.

 

“You don't have to keep helping me, it's almost a scar by now,” she replied, not giving a glance at the woman as she soaked the mop on water.

 

“May I see it?”

 

“Why?” She turned around with a scrunched face, confused as to why Leslie had this infuriating urge of helping her. “I'm setting you free. You paid your debt, you saved my life after almost taking it away from me. You are no longer obligated to take care of me with your made-up PhD.”

 

That's what had been driving her crazy since she had started living with the kids. Leslie Dean kept looking after her, taking care of her wounds, like Tina mattered to her. That was a lie, Tina knew that, because the possibility of the contrary was just preposterous. Still, she couldn't figure for the life of her why would Leslie do all those things for her. One of her theories was that it was a big manipulative scheme, though Tina didn't know what she was being played for.

 

“I don't feel forced to do this,” Leslie wrinkled her nose, as if insulted. “I want to help.”

 

“Well, your services are not wanted nor needed. You can find another way to pacify your guilt.”

 

“I'm not trying to help you out of guilt…” she sighed and looked up a bit shyly, in an unlike Leslie way. “I just wanted us to be friends.”

 

Tina stared at her dumbstruck. “You… You thought we were friends?”

 

“Well, you are the closest thing I've ever had to one,” she shrugged, her hands curling.

 

“But, why?”

 

“Like you said, you understand me,” she cocked her head with a sided, soft smile. “There’s not many people in my life I can say that about and I'm not gonna give up on that. Even if you want to kill me.”

 

Tina looked down at the wet floor and Leslie hanged down her head in defeat, turning around to go back to her room.

 

“Leslie, wait,” Tina called for her. She faced her again. “I don't _want_ to kill you,” she said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

 

Leslie couldn't help the smile that cracked up her pink lips. “See? That's a start.”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Tina stared at the girl sitting next to her and looking at her with intensity, as if the way she chewed toast was the most interesting thing she had ever seen.

 

“What is she doing?” She looked at Leslie, weirded out.

 

“Oh, it's just that-” Leslie chuckled and shook her head. “She's not very used to people with mouths.”

 

“Oh,” Tina nodded like that was a completely normal explanation.

 

“And I'm interested in my mother-in-law,” the girl added.

 

Tina choked. She had just been told of her daughter's relationship with Karolina, and she was more than okay with it. But Tina was certainly not ready to know something like Nico having two girlfriends at the same time and them being happy about it.

 

“For Christ’s sake…” Leslie muttered under her breath. “It's not what you think,” she said to Tina, and then turned to the girl. “She's not Karolina's mother.”

 

“What?” Tina croaked as the cough fit vanished. “Why would she-?”

 

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, cutting her in the middle of the sentence. She would have to continue that conversation later — and she most certainly would. Nonetheless, she had been waiting for this call since she woke up from being possessed by an alien. It was only a matter of time until Pride noticed her absence and how indispensable she was for them. Robert might be the underestimated one, but there was only so much he could do until Tina (the leader) had to take over.

 

It took them longer than she thought: two whole days. They had probably set their office on fire and needed her help. She smirked at her own thought and took her phone, standing up. By the look on Leslie's face as she left the room, Tina could tell she knew exactly who was calling.

 

“Careful,” she said. “Don't let the kids see you with that.”

 

Leslie had her lips pursed in an odd way, tips of the fingers of her left hand rubbing each other as if she were cleaning away the dirt on them. Tina's eyes lingered on the movement for a second, recognizing the sign of anxiety in an instant. Then she wanted to hit herself for knowing Leslie that well. She wasn't supposed to — she didn't want to. She groaned inwardly; maybe she did want to, but it wasn't relevant. No matter what fairy tale-like views of the world and friendships Leslie had, Tina knew she would be better off without her and her pregnancy hormones.

 

Abandoning the room and going out for a walk, she picked up the phone. Leslie was right. If she had to talk with Pride, she couldn't do it where the kids would inevitably listen and risk to have her neck slit in her sleep. Because they _would_ kill her without hesitation nor mercy were they to know she had helped their parents track them. Then, there would be no forgiveness, or even tolerance, from Nico.

 

“I don't have much time, what do you want?” She said curtly at the phone.

 

“Tina, where the hell are you?” Geoffrey's angry voice had almost left her deaf.

 

“Do you miss me?” Tina smirked. “Well, it's more than I can say for the kids.”

 

“The kids…? Wait, you know where they are?”

 

“I more than know. I'm with them.”

 

“What?! And you didn't tell us? Where are they?”

 

“I can't tell you that,” she sighed. “If I do, they'll murder me in my sleep and make it look like at accident. And don't even try to track me down, it won't work.”

 

She could hear Geoffrey's jaw working, some petty huffing and puffing, and then the resignation. “This isn't over,” he warned her. “Anyways, that's not why I called.”

 

“Oh, really?” She muttered, unsurprised.

 

“You ought to come back. We have a problem.”

 

“Whatever it is, figure it out yourselves. I understand that you need assistance in every step you make, but I'm sure you can try and put aside the fact that you're thick as wood and work it out yourselves.”

 

“No, you don't understand,” he insisted. “It's Jonah. He's back.”

 

That stole Tina's oxygen away from her lungs. She felt her blood turning cold and leaving her face — at least that would explain why she suddenly felt light-headed. She took a deep, troubled breath, Geoffrey's next words falling into deaf ears. Pulling her cell phone out of her ear, Tina's free hand found its way to her chest, as if trying to keep her heart from coming out of it.

 

Holding herself together, she lifted her phone back and said, “I'll call you back.” And hanged up.

 

She stared at the floor all the way back to the hostel. He was back and alive. After everything they'd been through, after how hard they had fought, Jonah prevailed. It would never be over. And Leslie, oh God, Leslie was going to be devastated. Her unborn child was in imminent danger, again. Tina had seen the protectiveness in her eyes at the reminder of an alien looking forward to steal her child away, the terror on having to go through that situation once again.

 

Determination set on her face. Tina wouldn't allow it. She had seen first-hand how Leslie'd been happier, her bond with Karolina stronger than ever now that no secrets were between them, and looking more at ease mothering a house full of teenagers than she used to be in her church, always putting on a mask. She wasn't about to let that happen again to her; it would crush her.

 

Tina was certain about few things nowadays, but she was sure that Leslie could never know about Jonah. Tina would handle it on her own.

 

“Tina,” Leslie's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Are you okay? You look a bit… pale.”

 

She blinked at her, swallowing down the lump in her throat. Cooling down her expression by showing a slight, forced smile, Tina nodded with a straightening of her neck. “How are you feeling?” She said instead of answering.

 

“Excuse me?” Leslie frowned.

 

“The pregnancy,” she clarified.

 

“Oh,” she seemed dumbstruck. “I'm good. Not as nauseous anymore.”

 

“That's great,” Tina breathed out with a tight smile, not giving her the chance to add anything as she walked away, carrying her emotions into her bedroom and closing the door. If she wanted to preserve Leslie's happiness intact, some compartmentalization was much needed.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Tina's phone rang once again, as it had so usually for the last week. When Leslie saw her going out to take the call she had thought it was to get rid of Pride so she could enjoy (in some way) her time with her daughter. She knew it was hard for Tina to make a connection with Nico, especially since their relationship seemed to be in worse state that hers with Karolina, but something was off.

 

Tina was spending more time with her cellphone than with Nico, going outside constantly behind everyone's back (not that Leslie could be that easily fooled). The kids kept a careful eye on Tina, distrusting of her, yet they didn't care enough about what happened to her to pay attention to detail. To realize that Tina was hiding something.

 

"How is Nico going?" She asked her daughter while she was having breakfast.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"How is she taking having her mom around?" She rephrased.

 

"It's… hard," Karolina left it at that, and Leslie knew better than to push.

 

She went upstairs, thinking about taking a nap, when her eyes stopped at Tina's door. They were getting close to have something resembling of a friendship, and Leslie hoped that if something was wrong, Tina would trust her enough to tell her, to let her help her. After everything they had been through, she would hope so.

 

She knocked on the door, hands twitching as they fell over her stomach. A soft voice told her to _come on in_ and she sighed, opening the door and smiling slightly as she was met with Tina laying down on bed and staring at the ceiling. She looked thoughtful, as if she were carrying on her back all the problems of the world to be solved.

 

"Hello," she said, stepping in.

 

"Do you need me for something?" Tina asked.

 

That made Leslie frown. "No, why?"

 

"I'm busy," was her answer.

 

Leslie snorted. "Doing what? Wallowing?"

 

Tina shook her head, sitting up on the mattress and cleaning her pants off wrinkles. "I'm not feeling like talking, Leslie. I need to think."

 

"About?" She pushed.

 

"Pride," she finally admitted.

 

"Is there something going on?" Leslie asked.

 

Tina shook her head no. "Nothing to worry about," she answered.

 

Leslie narrowed her eyes at her. She was lying. She nodded at her, leaving the room without saying goodbye and more confused and full of doubts than she was when she entered it.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

It took her awhile, but after following Tina around a few times and eavesdropping more times than she could count on, Leslie discovered Tina was in some sort of Pride mission. She hadn't given them their address, thank God, but she was conspiring with them about something too big to keep it hidden from her.

 

Jonah was alive. Her baby was in imminent danger _again_ . Her life and the kids' lives were in danger _again_. And Tina kept it from her. Why would she do that? Leslie asked herself in a sense of betrayal. She thought they were finally becoming friends and getting along, she thought they were past the resentment and hatred. Was this Tina's revenge for what happened with Amy? Why else would she lie to her about Jonah, knowing how it would affect Leslie?

 

"Why did you lie to me?" Her anger-strained voice broke the silence in the house.

 

The kids were out, and Tina and Leslie were left alone.

 

"What are you talking about?" Tina frowned, sipping from her cup of tea.

 

"I know about Jonah," she said bluntly. "Why didn't you tell me something as important as this?"

 

Tina's cheeks were pale as she looked down. "With Pride we're doing everything we can to stop him," she said instead of answering.

 

"What does he want?" Leslie demanded to know, hands falling naturally over her baby bump.

 

"You know what he wants," Tina swallowed, almost imperceptibly giving a nod towards Leslie's womb. "He has lost everything, his family…"

 

"And now he wants the only one he has left," Leslie gasped, lowering her gaze to herself.

 

No, she wouldn't let him. She might be terrified of the kid growing inside of her but she sure as hell wouldn't let anything happen to it. But what if he came after Karolina? How could she protect her when she was an entity outside her body? She hadn't been able to before.

 

"It's not gonna come to that," Tina assured her, and Leslie looked up at the tenacity, the softness in her voice. "I'm not gonna let him take your child away from you."

 

She shook her head. "Why?"

 

"Why I'm not going to let him kill you?"

 

"Yes! Isn't that what this is all about?" She stood up, walking closer to Tina. "Isn't that why you hid this from me? So I'm defenseless when he comes and steals my child?"

 

"No, of course not," Tina seemed offended. "Why would I do that?"

 

"Revenge."

 

"It's been awhile since I last was mad at you. Honestly, how could you believe that? We're past this," she said. It almost sounded like whining.

 

"Then why? Why would you do something so reckless and stupid as going to Pride for help against Jonah instead of me?!"

 

"Oh, come on, Leslie," Tina rolled her eyes. "What can you do? You have no knowledge of alien technology and you're heavily pregnant."

 

"At least you could've told me! I can help. I know Jonah better than any of you."

 

"It's not necessary," she excused.

 

"Then what in the hell took over you to keep this from me?"

 

"I wanted to protect you!" She blurted out, her cheeks flushed in exasperation. Leslie blinked at her, caught off guard. "I wanted to get rid of him, so you wouldn't have to deal with him and you could keep living on your little corner of happiness in the middle of nowhere without having to worry about a narcissistic alien coming to get you. I pushed everyone away, thinking it would protect you from the truth. But then, there was no one around to give me hope or tell me when I was being stupid," Tina said, giving a pointed glare at Leslie.

 

She scowled. Was she seriously putting the blame on her when she was the one lying to her? "Fine! You're being stupid, so stop it."

 

Tina's phone rang. The woman ignored it, staring at Leslie instead. The blonde arched an eyebrow at her.

 

"Aren't you gonna answer that? It's probably Pride."

 

"You're the stupid one if you think I'm going to take the call here, where they can track us," Tina muttered. "And don't worry," she added, raising her hands in defeat, though too calmly for it, "I'll keep you updated on this."

 

Leslie's heart beated loudly on her ears, wondering if she wanted to know. She did, but she also hated being in constant fear of Jonah reappearing in her life. Something in her chest was warm and fuzzy at the thought of Tina wanting to protect her and keep her safe, even though she hated that she lied to her. She shook the feeling away, deciding it wasn't the time to get emotional. Leslie had to find a way to save herself and her family.

 

"Should we tell the kids?"

 

"I think there's been enough lies for the next decade," Tina said.

 

"I'll take care of it."

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Leslie took a deep breath, finally allowing herself to breathe normally. The baby was safe, the weight was out of her shoulders, Karolina wasn't in possible danger, and Tina was acting normal again, smiling at her with that dazzled look on her face every time she said the right thing and she loved it.

 

Jonah was dead for good this time, and the kids weren't even aware that he had come back to begin with. It was for the best. No matter what they liked to believe, they were kids, they weren't supposed to worry about things other than school and their crushes. Besides, Leslie knew they couldn't stay isolated from the world and away from their parents forever. The rebellion was over, most of them didn't even care about bringing their parents to justice anymore.

 

(Alex was full of resentment towards his parents, though it was mostly rebellious because after that he had no idea what to do; Chase was home; Gert was missing, but she found out through Pride that she was with his dad and Stacey was doing the impossible to find them; Molly felt she had no other home; Nico would follow Karolina everywhere she went; it was Karolina Leslie had no idea what was going on inside her head — it was ironic, really. She didn't know what her own daughter wanted.)

 

She thought things would end up fixing themselves through time, given that was the way Fate liked to play, but she wasn't expecting to walk into Tina's room to find her putting on her heels with a bag on her shoulders.

 

“What’s going on? Are you going somewhere?” She asked.

 

Tina looked up in surprise, smiling to herself for half a second when she saw who was at the door. “I’m going home.”

 

“Home?” Leslie blinked. “Why? Why now?”

 

“I don't have anything else to do here.”

 

Leslie frowned. “What about your daughter?”

 

“She hates me and doesn't want me here.”

 

“That’s not-” Leslie started to deny but Tina raised a hand to stop her.

 

“She said it herself, remember? My daughter doesn't want me here, and I have a business back home that is probably falling apart under Robert's care.”

 

She looked down. Leslie had forgotten completely about Robert. Tina hadn't mentioned him once during the last months, so she had assumed he wasn't relevant. She was such an idiot, forgetting that Tina had a husband. She almost wanted to hit herself. And now she was leaving. She was leaving her alone with the kids and she didn't know if she could do it, not when she had discovered what it was like to have somebody who understood her — somebody her own age — in the same house.

 

“Leslie?” Tina's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She was looking at her softly, with worried eyes. “You okay?”

 

Leslie quickly fixed her expression and smiled, though she wasn't feeling like it. Tina's face fell at it.

 

“Don't put on a mask. We've been through too much,” Tina frowned. Leslie looked away, then advanced toward her.

 

“Don’t you remember, Tina? You need to see the forest, not the trees,” she grabbed her by the shoulders.

 

“The sad reality is that sometimes there is no forest. The trees are just that: trees.”

 

“Tina…” She gave her a sad, begging look.

 

“Don’t you see, Leslie? It's over.”

 

“But it isn't over!” Leslie said. “If you keep fighting for Nico, everything will be okay.”

 

“I wasn't talking about Nico and you know it.” Tina shot her an exasperated look. “You can't be that oblivious.”

 

“Oblivious of what?”

 

She shook her head in disappointment, a self-deprecating chuckle emerging from her throat. “Of course you are. It was all in my head.”

 

“Tina…”

 

"Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in a minute.”

 

She was about to leave the room when Leslie grabbed her wrist. Tina froze for a moment before she turned around and faced Leslie with a raised eyebrow, only for it to lower when she saw Leslie's eyes gleaming with tears. Her lips parted at the look, a small gasp coming out of them.

 

“Don't leave,” it came out as a breathy plea from Leslie's mouth.

 

“I don't unders-”

 

“Don't. Leave,” Leslie repeated as she stepped closer into Tina's personal space.

 

“Les, you know I…” she blinked when she realized how close Leslie was, how her gaze didn't move from her lips, how she could feel the other woman's breath ghosting against hers.

 

So she wasn't as oblivious as she had thought. Tina's lips quirked. All she could see on Leslie's eyes was a mix of lust and desperation, and she was relieved. She had believed it was all in her head for a second. A hand touched her cheek, and her lungs were still at the sense of anticipation. She leaned in and kissed Leslie's lips.

 

Leslie's hand moved from her cheek to the back of her neck, and Tina couldn't help but wrap one of her arms around her back, ignoring the awkwardness of the baby bump between them. Leslie tasted like the pears she had been craving for the last two days, it was sweet and oh so fitting to her pregnancy glow. When she felt her slowly drifting away from the kiss, Tina licked her own lips, staring at those light blue eyes that smiled at her soul, and she couldn't resist slamming their lips back together.

 

Leslie held onto her shoulders for dear life, giving her a lingering, open-mouthed kiss that took the breath out of Tina's body. She felt her shivering under her fingertips as they caressed the back of her neck and down her throat, toward her collarbones; as her left hand grasped Leslie's hips and pulled them closer to hers. The woman gasped against her mouth, and when Tina felt her backing her to the bed, she started leaving kisses along her jaw, only to part entirely, breathing hard.

 

“That was…”

 

“Yeah,” Leslie croaked, then cleared her throat.

 

“I thought you didn't feel the same,” she said, swallowing and licking Leslie's taste away from her lips. “Do you?” She narrowed her eyes then.

 

Leslie wasn't all that sure of what she was going to agree to, but she answered, “I would hope so.” She had acted on instinct, on her hormones, probably, but mostly on desperation — Tina was leaving her, which reminded her, “Are you gonna…” she drifted off, but Tina knew what she meant to say.

 

“I don't know,” she shook her head, feeling lost. “Did you kiss me just because I was going to leave?”

 

“It did push me to do it,” Leslie confessed.

 

Tina wondered what did that mean, but she just shook her head again. Her lips were tingling with the memory of Leslie's pressed against them, her heartbeat was loud and strong in her ears, and she felt a shiver running through her back at the thought of kissing that gorgeous woman again. She wanted to kiss her again. She wanted to leave. She wanted to stay. She wanted Nico. She wanted to stop feeling so tired. She wanted to go home.

 

But what was home anyway? That empty, lonely, high-tech mansion she had occupied with her resentful ex-husband? An office with a team of people that admired her and her “epic love story” because of huge lies? A hostel made home by a bunch of lost kids that saw her as the devil and were waiting for any opportunity to kick her out (as to why they didn't already, that was out of her)? Was it Leslie and her understanding eyes, her soft lips and warm embrace (but stubborn stance and snappish attitude at anyone that broke her patience)?

 

Maybe she _should_ leave. She had no reason to stay around people that hated her. Tina wanted to make things right with Nico more than anything, but she had come to realize Nico didn't want her to — that was the difference between Leslie's situation and hers, Karolina was willing to give Leslie (and even Tina) a second chance. She looked up at the woman and thought, for just a second, that maybe she should ask her to come with her.

 

She didn't get the chance to ask her, though, because Leslie had given a step forward as she stared at her deep in the eyes. Tina's breath caught. Leslie put a hand on the back of her neck and brought her lips against hers in a long, closed-mouth kiss. Tina, of course, was more than happy to oblige.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“We're leaving,” Tina said, and Karolina blinked at her and back at Leslie, gaping for a good quarter of a minute.

 

“‘We’?” She asked finally, and she looked at her mother again. “You're leaving, too? But I thought-”

 

“I know,” Leslie stepped forward, placing her hands in Karolina's shoulders. “But I can't stay here, hiding away from the world forever. I have to give this baby its best chance.”

 

Tina stared at the blonde in some sort of awe. It was the first time — aside of the mama bear attitude — that she'd seen Leslie a bit interested in the life growing inside of her. She couldn't help but stand closer and wrap an arm around her shoulders. Then she looked up at Karolina, eyebrows lifting when she saw her expression. The girl seemed _devastated_.

 

Which, if Leslie wasn't so blind when it came to the people she loved, she would notice it. Tina was aware that Leslie had been living thinking her daughter did nothing more than tolerate her when by just looking at Karolina you could see how much that kid loved her. She didn't want her to leave (Tina didn't allow herself, not even for a moment, to feel envious about it, no matter how hard those feelings were in her chest).

 

Tina wondered what Nico's reaction would be once she found out they were going back home. She shook her head and blurted out before she could catch herself: “Why don't you come with us?” And she pretended it didn't hurt when Leslie gasped and elbowed her.

 

Leslie thought she was imposing, Tina thought Leslie was an idiot. A very lovable idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.

 

Karolina's eyes widened, and she looked around the place, as if watching if somebody was listening. “Nico could come too,” she added. It wasn't very likely, but Tina couldn't help herself. “And Molly, she seems to have grown on you,” she teased Leslie slightly.

 

Karolina moved her gaze back and forth between them, only to shake her head. “I don't know if that's such a good idea. We can't leave them behind,” she bit her lip, giving her mom the biggest puppy dog eyes Tina had ever seen. “Are you sure you want to go? Aren't you still on the run?”

 

Leslie smiled fondly and sadly at her — Tina was about to smash their heads against each other if they didn't get their act together. “On the run from what? There aren't any aliens after us anymore. I just want to… move on.”

 

She almost seemed ashamed of admitting it, and Karolina nodded understandingly, gaze still at the floor. “It's just… I'll miss you.”

 

Leslie was taken aback by the confession, and her face screwed like she was about to sob as she pulled Karolina into her arms. “Oh, honey. I'm just a call away. And I can always visit.” She muttered into her ear, and the girl nodded, her face pressed against the woman's neck. “You just think about it, okay?”

 

Tina stood behind Leslie, watching them with sadness in her eyes as she wondered what it would be like to have someone like they had each other. Because, having nobody, she had found, it was the worst curse unimaginable.

 

Then she told Nico too, waiting for a silent nod and a quick reminder of not letting the door hit her on her way out. She swallowed and repeated herself that she should not let her feelings show. She had survived worse than a few harsh words from her teenage daughter.

 

“You-” Nico blinked after she told her, looking at Leslie but quickly drawing her gaze to Tina again. “You're leaving?”

 

Her voice was so tiny, and Tina didn't know what to make of the look on her face. Was she happy? Surprised? A little disappointed? Perhaps Leslie wasn't the only one incapable of reading her daughter's emotions, the only one whose feelings interfere in her sight.

 

“You're welcome to come with us,” Leslie intervened, like Tina had done when she was on her position. “You and Karolina. There's a world out there and we can't keep locked up here.”

 

Nico frowned. “Okay,” she said, and it was better than any possible response she could ever imagine. “I'll- Okay,” she repeated, mostly to herself, then turned around and walked upstairs.

 

“We're leaving this afternoon,” Leslie added as the girl walked away.

 

Tina didn't know if that was good or bad. Just like they expected, neither of her daughters accepted their offer. They wanted them to, but they knew beforehand they wouldn't. Some things just weren't meant to be, and boy, did Tina wished for them to be.

 

Leslie smiled sympathetically to her, and kissed her cheek. Tina blinked out of her thoughts at the display of affection and held Leslie's hand. She wasn't alone, she had Leslie with her. Leslie, who wanted her and cared about her, who _just wanted them to be friends_. They had to go back home.

 

What was it home, again?

 

She grabbed Leslie's cheeks with both hands and dared to kiss her soundly on the lips. Who cared what was home? The warm, fuzzy feelings on her chest provoked by Leslie’s low moan at the moment their lips touched was enough.

 

“Oh, my God!” Karolina exclaimed from upstairs. “Mom!”

 

“Mom?” Nico joined, her eyes widened.

 

Well, it'd come out eventually. Tina tried her hardest not to blush, yet her embarrassment didn't stop her from wrapping her arms around Leslie's neck as they drifted apart, smiling tentatively at their daughters.

 

“Girls. We didn't see you up there.”

 

 


End file.
